Estonian airline reaches into Scandinavia

The small Estonian airline Avies, based in Tallinn, launched a new international route between Tampere in Finland and the Estonian capital Tallinn on October 28. The route, operated using an 18-seat Jetstream32 turbo-propeller aircraft, is targeting Estonians living and working in Finland as well as Finns with an interest in spa, golf and hunting tourism to spend a weekend in Estonia. The 50-minute flights depart Tampere on Friday evenings and from Tallinn on Sunday evenings.Earlier in the month, Avies opened several other new routes, two of which were between Tallinn and Jönköping and between Jönköping and Stockholm. It also launched a new route for domestic flights in Finland in association with the Finnish regional air company Airlink. Avies says that the new route, between Tampere and Oulu, adds an important new connection to Finland’s domestic network. Until now, passengers flying between the two cities have had to travel via Helsinki. Avies also operates direct flights between Tallinn and St Petersburg as well as the domestic routes Tallinn-Kärdla and Pärnu-Kihnu.krak[pictured: Town Hall Square, Tallinn; EPA Photo / Nipa / Aivar Partel]